Henrico’s Top Teachers – Linda Korpics

By Patty Kruszewski, Citizen Managing Editor (Photo by Robert Thomas for the Henrico Citizen)

02/16/12

It didn’t take Linda Korpics long to figure out that she wanted to become a teacher.

Just a year or two of being a student.

By the time she was in second grade, Korpics realized how much she enjoyed helping other students “and seeing their happiness when they got the skill I was teaching,” she says. A fifth grade teacher reinforced her interest in the profession – and today Korpics is a second grade teacher marking her 30th year in the classroom.

But even after decades of experience, she says, it’s still a thrill to see children light up with the excitement of learning.

This year, Korpics has a child who has been shuffled from one school setting after another, with the result that she started the year struggling in all subjects. Her guardian told Korpics that the child was not very trusting and has always been reluctant to participate in class. But after months of one-on-one work, Korpics reports, the student has shown daily progress.

“Now her hand is up for every lesson,” she says, “even when it isn’t her reading group.”

Korpics recalls that at the beginning of the year she briefly put her arm around the student, but noticed that she tensed up so she resisted doing it again. Then, a month later, the child came running into the room “and gave me the biggest bear hug you can imagine,” she says.

“I teared up and told her that hug was the best present she could have given me,” says Korpics. “I have been teaching for 29 years and it is moments like those that always mean so much to me and show me why I teach.”

A fellow teacher at Echo Lake who has observed Korpics at work says, “It gave me chill bumps to see Linda get so excited and overcome by emotion when talking about her students and their successes.”

Korpics’ colleague also noted that she works constantly at developing new and innovative ways to teach, such as creating “books” to accompany the science and social studies curriculum and interactive notebooks to reinforce math concepts.

A parent wrote that he, too, admires the way Korpics is able to customize her teaching methods according to each child’s needs, and that he believes her ability to individualize her teaching methods has been instrumental in his child’s school success -- not to mention whetting his child’s intellectual curiosity outside the classroom.

Korpics’ ability to combine cutting-edge techniques and technology with the experience and passion of a long-time educator, said the parent, help create a learning environment that is unmatched in its effectiveness.

“In an era of 21st-century learning,” wrote the parent, “it is a joy to know that 29 years of experience still counts.”

Among the former students that Korpics has enjoyed hearing from recently is one that was in her second grade class in 1983. “[She wrote] a letter,” says Korpics, “telling me that she is teaching in my old classroom in New York and that she went into teaching because of me.”

Another former student who is now a senior came to visit Korpics recently and told her that he plans to study physical therapy. Korpics recalled that when she had him in her class, the student struggled in all areas and had behavior issues. “We had many lunches together,” she says, “to strengthen skills and to have discussions on behavior and consequences.”

Her now-grown-up student told Korpics that he had come to thank her.

“It is great to know that I have touched the lives of these kids in such a positive way,” says Korpics.

“[He told me that] I made a difference and that he wants to help others just like I helped him.

RAMPS (Ramp Access Made Possible by Students) recently received an $8,000 grant from the Christopher and Dana Reeve Foundation. The award was one of 75 grants totaling more than $600,137 awarded by the Reeve Foundation to nonprofit organizations nationwide that provide more opportunities, access, and daily quality of life for individuals living with paralysis, their families and caregivers.

RAMPS, an organization founded by then-Henrico County high school students to build ramps for local low-income residents who need them, will use the grant to purchase modular wheelchair ramp supplies. These supplies will be used by local high school RAMPS clubs, who provide volunteers to build the ramps. > Read more.

Henrico resident Larry Loving, Jr., will compete with three other locals – Thomas Scribner (Richmond), Roscoe McGhee (Midlothian) and Larry Loving (Richmond) in the Liberty Mutual Insurance Invitational National Finals at TPC Sawgrass, in Ponte Vedra Beach, Fla., Feb. 26-Mar. 1. The foursome qualified for the national golf tournament by winning the Liberty Mutual Insurance Invitational, held at Whiskey Creek Golf Club in Ijamsville, Md. on June 11. That event supported the RiteCare Center for Childhood Language Disorders.

The Henrico Police Athletic League (PAL) held its Sixth Annual Awards Banquet Feb. 5 at The Cultural Arts Center of Glen Allen, celebrating accomplishments of 2014 and recognizing outstanding contributions to the organization. Henrico County Juvenile Domestic Court Judge Denis Soden served as master of ceremonies and former Harlem Globetrotter Melvin Adams served as keynote speaker.

Among the 2014 honorees were Richmond International Raceway (Significant Supporter), Richmond Strikers Soccer Club (Significant Supporter), Henrico County Schools-Pupil Transportation (Summer Camp Supporter), Bruce Richardson, Jr. (Youth of the Year), Sandra Williams (Volunteer of the Year), Thomas Williams (Employee of the Year), Mikki Pleasants (Board Member of the Year), and Michelle Sheehan (Police Officer of the Year). > Read more.

It was another win for Willow Lawn when Travinia Italian Kitchen and Wine Bar opened there six months ago, nestled in the heart of the re-made shopping center. The contemporary American Italian restaurant boasts 13 locations up and down the East Coast, with the Henrico location opening in August.

In the same week, I hit up Travinia twice, once for lunch and once for a late dinner. At lunchtime on a weekday, I was overwhelmed by the smell of garlic and by the number of working professionals in nice suits on their lunch breaks. When we first walked in, I was concerned our meal would be a little too pricey based on the décor – it’s a really nice place. Luckily, the menu has a variety of options for every budget. > Read more.

There’s a ton of sugar in The SpongeBob Movie: Sponge Out of Water. Literal sugar, as SpongeBob Squarepants (Tom Kenny) and Patrick (Bill Fagerbakke) inhale their own weight in cotton candy and eat ice cream, one scoop per mouthful.

At one point we burrow into the brain of our boxy yellow hero and discover the inner workings of his brain: googly-eyed cakes and candies that giggle and sing. All of which is extremely appropriate for a film like Sponge Out of Water. Because not only is the movie sweet (the “awwww” kind of sweet), but it’s the equivalent of a 30-candy bar sugar rush, zipping between ideas like a sponge on rocket skates.

The story under all this is really not that complicated. SpongeBob flips burgers at the Krusty Krab. > Read more.

With this last round of snow still fresh on the ground, the best way to start the weekend may be at Southern Season for their weekly wine-tasting program, Fridays Uncorked. Families with cabin fever will enjoy the Richmond Kids Expo, taking place tomorrow at the Richmond Raceway Complex. Some date night options include the Rock & Roll Jubilee at The Cultural Arts Center at Glen Allen, HATTheatre’s production of “The Whale” and National Theatre Live’s “Treasure Island” at the University of Richmond. For all our top picks this weekend, click here! > Read more.